... to the exclusion of the Palestinians.
See Silver's 1998 op-ed for the Wall St. Journal ...
http://members.tripod.com/~Barbara_Robertson/WSJ.htmlLet Israel Defend Itself Against Saddam
by Ron Silver
Wall Street Journal, February 20, 1998
"Here we go again. This week Israeli mothers and fathers are waiting in line to get their children fitted for gas masks. How do they explain this to their kids? Do they tell the truth, or do they make up some fib about the possibility of the air becoming "dirty," as one mother did?
Israel is a sovereign nation. Its first responsibility is to protect its people. But at the highest levels of the U.S. Government, some officials are concerned that if the U.S. hits Iraq hard, Israel will suffer Scud attacks as it did during the Gulf War. These officials' greatest worry seems to be that Israel will defend its citizens.
Israel is probably the only country that could be asked not to take action to prevent its towns and cities from being hit with missiles. Why are leading figures in our national security apparatus urging Israel to show "restraint" and not hit back at Iraq? Because the U.S. is allowing its Arab allies (some of which are Israel's erstwhile peace partners) to maintain Israel's status as a pariah nation.
Iraq continues to feed this campaign to delegitimize Israel. In a thinly veiled threat of further attacks in the event of war, Nizar Hamdoon, Iraq's ambassador to the United Nations, told the Los Angeles Times this week that Israel is part of a "conspiracy" to destroy his country." .....